Turritella Agate Rough 20 Lbs. $40.00

Description

Pieces are 1.5 inch To 4 Inches This is very old Stock; Every piece is solid and will take a good polish Cab or Tumble or Specimen. Turritella Agate is the popular name used for a brown, translucent to semi-transparent, fossiliferous agate found in the Green River Formation of Wyoming. It is very easy to recognize because it contains large fossil snails that stand out in a white-to-tan color that contrasts with the brownish agate. Named “Turritella” in error decades ago. The correct name would be “Elimia Agate.”Author: Hobart M. King, PhD, GIA Graduate Gemologist Turritella Agate / Elimia Agate:A close-up photo of a sawn surface of Turritella Agate showing numerous spiral-shaped snail shells. This type of view shows how the internal cavities of the shells and the voids between the shells have all been infilled with the translucent-to-transparent agate. This view is about two inches across.Turritella Agate is the popular name used for a brown, translucent to semi-transparent, fossiliferous agate found in the Green River Formation of Wyoming. It is very easy to recognize because it contains large fossil snails that stand out in a white-to-tan color that contrasts with the brownish agate.

This organic gem material was incorrectly named decades ago when the christener thought that the spectacular spiral-shaped gastropod (snail) fossils entombed within the stone were members of the marine Turritella genus. That was a mistake. Instead, the fossils are of the freshwater snail, Elimia tenera, a member of the Pleuroceridae family.

Before the correct name was realized and widely published, the gem material became quite popular and the name “Turritella” went wild in lapidary magazines, gem, mineral, and fossil books, catalogs, and exhibits. Today it is typically seen without corrective note in all of those sources, along with websites, online auctions, and computer software. Only a fraction of the people who have collected the material, cut it into cabochons, sold it, bought it, or worn it in jewelry have any knowledge that Elimia is a more appropriate name.It is possible that the misnamed Turritella is the best-known fossil from the Green River Formation.

Turritella Agate is a spiritual crystal, deeply connected to the earth and home, to one’s personal roots and ancestry, even the events of one’s past. It is a survival stone, one of strength and protection. Ancient life held within its form lends the power of wisdom and healing.